News from the Junior School

From the Head of Junior School

Great Things are Happening

Great things are happening in our Junior School each and every day. Our Afternoon Clubs continue to run smoothly, and we’re excited to have introduced several new opportunities for our students to explore.

One standout this term has been our Entrepreneur Club, which has truly flourished. Students are being encouraged to think beyond the ordinary, embrace their creativity, and transform innovative ideas into real possibilities. Through this process, they are strengthening their problem-solving skills and building confidence in their ability to adapt and lead. As our children prepare to navigate an ever-changing world, fostering creativity, resilience, and critical thinking remains at the heart of what we do. We are proud to see these essential skills developing so vibrantly within our Junior School community.

Chess, Coding, Drama, and our Digital News Team are also wonderful avenues for students to broaden their thinking, collaborate, and develop confidence in new domains. I encourage families to chat with their children about what they do in these clubs as they are certainly far more than afternoon child minding! 

As we move through the NAPLAN testing period, it’s important to remember that these assessments represent just one snapshot in time of your child’s learning. While NAPLAN provides useful information about specific literacy and numeracy skills, it is only one of many tools we use to understand how each learner is progressing. At our school, we view NAPLAN results as a guide that helps us plan our next steps, refine classroom practices, and continue supporting every child’s growth. Your child’s learning journey is rich, varied and ongoing and no single test can capture all the wonderful ways they develop, learn and succeed each day.

We are incredibly proud of our students who will be representing our school at the upcoming IPSHA Swimming and Diving Carnival at SOPAC. Their courage to step up, give it a red‑hot go, and strive for their personal best is truly admirable. They carry our school colours with pride, and we know they will represent us with great spirit and determination. We’re also looking forward to our upcoming Cross Country event. A day that’s all about endurance, resilience, and digging deep to reach that finish line. Completing a cross country is always a wonderful achievement. I still remember my own primary school days, running what felt like kilometres in the heat, chest pounding, but never forgetting the jubilation of crossing that final line to have a Zooper Dooper as a reward. It’s moments like these that build character, confidence, and lifelong memories for our students, we hope that you can join us on Tuesday 10 March, to cheer on our runners.

Junior School Housekeeping

A friendly reminder to please ensure all belongings are clearly labelled. Due to health reasons, we will be disposing of any unclaimed and unlabeled lunchboxes at the end of each week. If items have names, we can easily return them to their owners. We also remind families that only Years 5 and 6 may access the canteen with money at recess and lunchtime; students in Years K to 4 may order lunch only. Additionally, please avoid parking in the clearly marked Pre‑K parking bays, as these spaces are reserved for our youngest learners and their families. Finally, a reminder that Pokémon cards and Pokémon collection folders are not to be brought to school. They tend to create unnecessary competition and can lead to students feeling excluded. Thank you, everyone, for helping us maintain a positive and smooth-running environment for all.

Harmony Week – 16 to 22 March

Harmony Week is a celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. The week is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Our classes will be doing different things but we do ask that on Thursday 19 March, your child wears a touch of orange to show their support.

If you would like to know more about Harmony Week, this government link is a good starting point:  https://www.harmony.gov.au/

From the Junior School Curriculum Co-ordinator 

As we move into the second half of the term, we are excited to introduce several additional learning programs that support the diverse needs of our Junior School students. This week, our HEROIC Heights sessions began in Years 5 and 6 in collaboration with the Diverse Learning team. These small‑group lessons are delivered twice a week for English and Mathematics and provide targeted revision for some learners and opportunities for added challenge for others, creating a setting where the content can be delivered at a pitch and pace that best suits their needs. Students remaining with their classroom teachers will continue to learn in small groups, giving teachers the opportunity to set purposeful individual learning goals and offer focused feedback to support ongoing growth.

I would also like to highlight some of the differentiation practices that are embedded across our classrooms. Differentiation is an essential part of what we do here at Pittwater House, creating an inclusive learning environment where every child has the opportunity to succeed. From Kindergarten to Year 6, teachers adapt content, processes and learning tasks to align with students’ interests, readiness levels and learning preferences, ensuring that each learner is appropriately challenged and supported.

In practice, this means students can engage with new ideas in ways that suit them, whether through visual, auditory, hands‑on or collaborative learning experiences. Differentiation also encourages student agency by offering choices in how they learn and show what they know, while providing the scaffolds they need to confidently access the curriculum. At its core, a differentiated classroom celebrates each child’s individuality and fosters a positive environment where every learner can thrive.

NAPLAN

On Monday, Year 3 and Year 5 completed their practice NAPLAN test ahead of next week’s assessments. Students will sit the writing, reading, conventions of language and numeracy tests from Wednesday 11 March to Monday 16 March. Classroom teachers will be available each morning to help students settle in, feel reassured and begin each test with confidence. NAPLAN provides a snapshot of each student’s learning at a particular point in time and provides a school snapshot to show how our students are progressing. We encourage students to view NAPLAN as an opportunity to experience test conditions and simply show what they know. We wish everyone the best of luck and will ensure we provide supports for students to feel calm, confident and ready to do their best.

From the Junior School PDHPE Co-ordinator

We are excited to share a wonderful addition to our Junior School Sport program this term.

We now have four specialist coaches joining us each week to support our PISA teams during training, as well as working with students from Kindergarten to Year 6 who remain at school during Friday Sport. These sessions are supported by myself and our classroom teachers, ensuring all students benefit from quality instruction and engagement.

This is a fantastic opportunity for our students. The additional coaching allows for greater skill development, more individual feedback, and increased confidence across all year groups. It also strengthens the pathway between participation and representative sport, while ensuring every child remains active and supported.

Our focus this term is on developing Rugby and Cricket skills, alongside building fitness and endurance through a variety of structured running games. Students are learning fundamental movement skills, teamwork strategies and the importance of effort and resilience in sport.

We are thrilled to see students embracing these sessions with enthusiasm and a willingness to improve. The addition of experienced coaches is a significant enhancement to our Junior School Sport program and we look forward to seeing the continued growth and confidence of our students throughout the term.

School Holiday Code Camp 

“Code Camp” will again be running at Pittwater House in the second week of the school holidays. The options available include:

• “Spark” where your child can design their own arcade game
• “Robotics Camp” where attendees explore robotics, using coding and programming to bring their robot to life.
• “Animation Minis” is described as an exciting intersection of storytelling, craft and technology. After developing a storyboard and building a set, Children will shape their favourite characters out of clay, and work together to bring their story to life frame-by-frame using stop-motion animation.
• “Illustrate a Graphic Novel” where your child will use various illustration techniques and create their very own graphic novel

Use this link to learn more and book directly – use the code SCHOOL25 at the checkout to save $25

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